. >>> thank you for joining us. i'm jessica doyle. jc hayward has the day off. >>> it has been raining virtually nonstop and that could pose a problem for low lying areas. let's get right to meteorologist howard bernstein. >> we're doing okay now, jess, but we have had some very heavy downpours. depending on 0 how things shape up today and tonight, it could be a very difficult rush hour. maybe a rumble of thunder coming right up 95 into montgomery and howard county. going to zoom in and show you these are tropical type rains. we're talking rainfall rates a couple of inches per hour while it's raining. that's why we're looking at ponding on the roads. you see it in bethesda, arlington, rockville, gaithersburg, headed to damascus. even on 29 as you are coming out of montgomery into howard county, we are seeing heavy showers lifting off to the north. on the weather computer there's a large area of rain and thunderstorms extending from the northern gulf of mexico through the south right toward us. we've had some breaks, but we're also loo